Adventures by Disney: Egypt Inquiry

[MarionStuntDouble]

My family and I are doing the ABD Egypt tour in February, and I have a question about the itinerary on Day 2. The "Old Cairo Tour" says that it covers the Saladin Citadel of Cairo and the Great Mosque of Muhammad Ali amongst other "iconic and historic monuments in the city." Does anyone who has done this ABD trip have a list of what those other "iconic and historic monuments in the city" includes? My family and I are particularly interested in the Coptic section of Cairo and intend to take a tour of it the day before the ABD tour actually begins, and I want to ensure that the tour has as little overlap as possible with what we will see during the "Old Cairo Tour."

 

[newfamilyman]

Did you have any feedback about the ABD Egypt tour? We are doing the Nat Geo version in October.

 

[MarionStuntDouble]

Did you have any feedback about the ABD Egypt tour? We are doing the Nat Geo version in October.

It was fantastic! I don't know how similar the Nat Geo version is to the ABD, but if it is similar I have very little to critique. My group was very happy that we booked a seperate outside tour for the Coptic Sector as it is missing in the ABD tour. I was also disappointed that we returned to Cairo for the final evening as it was a lot of hassle taking another flight simply to have dinner at the hotel. Another day at Sharm el Sheik would have been far preferable to yet another flight. Fortunately the organizers came to the same conclusion as the ABD tour now ends in Sharm el Sheik. I hope you have an amazing trip! Ours was certainly unforgettable!

 

[mathgeek]

My family and I are doing the ABD Egypt tour in February, and I have a question about the itinerary on Day 2. The "Old Cairo Tour" says that it covers the Saladin Citadel of Cairo and the Great Mosque of Muhammad Ali amongst other "iconic and historic monuments in the city." Does anyone who has done this ABD trip have a list of what those other "iconic and historic monuments in the city" includes? My family and I are particularly interested in the Coptic section of Cairo and intend to take a tour of it the day before the ABD tour actually begins, and I want to ensure that the tour has as little overlap as possible with what we will see during the "Old Cairo Tour."

I did the ABD Egypt tour last summer. To my recollection, we didn't really do a "tour" of Old Cairo other than the ride to/from the mosque, the tour of the mosque, and a photo op of Cairo from the top of the summit. You should be fine if you find a tour of that area that does not go to the mosque.

 

[TravelParent]

I did the ABD Egypt tour last summer. To my recollection, we didn't really do a "tour" of Old Cairo other than the ride to/from the mosque, the tour of the mosque, and a photo op of Cairo from the top of the summit. You should be fine if you find a tour of that area that does not go to the mosque.

Can you share how the weather/heat impacted your trip? We are debating summer vs winter for Egypt. Thanks!

 

[mathgeek]

Can you share how the weather/heat impacted your trip? We are debating summer vs winter for Egypt. Thanks!

It was definitely hot, probably average 99-102 F every day. We did the bulk of our touring early morning or into evening/night to try to stay out the the worst of the heat. Abu Simbel and Karnak were the two exceptions, and our guide and Egyptologist made sure we were stocked up on water bottles, handed out umbrellas to shelter from the sun, and also tried to keep us in shady areas at Karnak. The tombs in Valley of the Kings were particularly hot inside. The guides also treated us to a cold soda after several of the stops.

On the flip side of this, many of the sites were practically empty since summer is low tourist season, and we also happened to be there during a big holiday (Eid al Adha) that kept locals home celebrating and visiting with their families. I have pictures from Karnak, Abu Simbel, and Kom Ombo with nobody in the background. We also had a good amount of time to ourselves as a group in King Tut's tomb to get pictures, which is apparently typically unheard of - they usually herd people in and out in a line fairly quickly from what we were told. And the other tombs weren't too crowded. Because of all of this, I'm glad I did this trip in summer. It was amazing to have the amount of time we did for photos and touring without major crowds.

 

[pjacobi]

I don't think even the Egyptologists work in the field during the summer months.

Be sure to check dates for Ramadan which change each year. Many sites and businesses are closed in the afternoon for Ramadan.


-Paul

 

[sayhello]

Never mind. I posted something incorrect.

Sayhello

 

[KathyTN]

Hi MarionStuntDouble. Can you share what the weather was like in Feb? Also, if you did a pre day in Cairo, what did you do? We will be there in Feb, and will be there 1-2 days prior in Cairo, so I’m curious about weather and things to do.
Oh, also, what was it like to transit out (depart) Sharm El Sheikh airport? I’ve been reading some unsettling things about departing SSH, (arrivals seem to go well, but departures are another story) and am a little concerned since we won’t be with a guide or group at that point.

 

[MarionStuntDouble]

Hi MarionStuntDouble. Can you share what the weather was like in Feb? Also, if you did a pre day in Cairo, what did you do? We will be there in Feb, and will be there 1-2 days prior in Cairo, so I’m curious about weather and things to do.
Oh, also, what was it like to transit out (depart) Sharm El Sheikh airport? I’ve been reading some unsettling things about departing SSH, (arrivals seem to go well, but departures are another story) and am a little concerned since we won’t be with a guide or group at that point.

The weather was fantastic! I wore pants and quarter length shirts the entire trip and never got hot. I did make sure to layer up as well as it does get cold in Egypt at night. I should mention that I do live in Florida so I have a decently high tolerance for heat.

We did do a pre day in Cairo. We took a guided tour through the Coptic section that included the Cave Church, Coptic Museum, the Hanging Church, St. George's, etc. It was fantastic!

Getting out of Sharm El Sheikh airport was no more difficult than any of the other airports in Egypt for us, but that could be because we were still with the tour group at that point.

 

[KathyTN]

Thanks MarionStuntDouble.
Good info.
How did you book your tour in Cairo?

 

[PMC25]

My family and I are doing the ABD Egypt tour in February, and I have a question about the itinerary on Day 2. The "Old Cairo Tour" says that it covers the Saladin Citadel of Cairo and the Great Mosque of Muhammad Ali amongst other "iconic and historic monuments in the city." Does anyone who has done this ABD trip have a list of what those other "iconic and historic monuments in the city" includes? My family and I are particularly interested in the Coptic section of Cairo and intend to take a tour of it the day before the ABD tour actually begins, and I want to ensure that the tour has as little overlap as possible with what we will see during the "Old Cairo Tour."

Hi! Heading to ABD Egypt trip tomorrow. Wondering if you ended up taking your own day pre-trip tour and with whom?

 

[soniam]

I have been reading about some of the issues with the Nile cruises. Does the ABD boat dock at night? Does it dock closely to the other boats? I was watching a video where a man was doing Ama, which I know isn't the same. However, he had to walk through multiple other boats to get to the dock. The worst part was that the boats kept running at night with gas engines, because there was no power at those docks. He said it was very noisy and smelly. Thanks

 

[sayhello]

I have been reading about some of the issues with the Nile cruises. Does the ABD boat dock at night? Does it dock closely to the other boats? I was watching a video where a man was doing Ama, which I know isn't the same. However, he had to walk through multiple other boats to get to the dock. The worst part was that the boats kept running at night with gas engines, because there was no power at those docks. He said it was very noisy and smelly. Thanks

I don't know for sure, but my assumption would be "Yes" because ABD doesn't own the boat. They utilize Egyptian owned and run boats just like everyone else does.

In fact, the thing with river boats parking several deep in some ports is a pretty common issue on river cruises everywhere. They only have so many docks, and river cruising is really popular right now. We had to do that on my ABD Danube River cruise.





Sayhello

 

[soniam]

I don't know for sure, but my assumption would be "Yes" because ABD doesn't own the boat. They utilize Egyptian owned and run boats just like everyone else does.

In fact, the thing with river boats parking several deep in some ports is a pretty common issue on river cruises everywhere. They only have so many docks, and river cruising is really popular right now. We had to do that on my ABD Danube River cruise.

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Sayhello

The docking doesn’t bother me. It’s the noise and fumes that I am concerned with.

 

[sayhello]

The docking doesn’t bother me. It’s the noise and fumes that I am concerned with.

I'm assuming if all the other boats run their engines 24/7, it's a good bet ABD's does, also, but it's really the ship in front of you that's the issue, not your own ship. So even if ABD's didn't run their engine at night, the others probably would.

I'm sure someone who has done this ABD will let you know for sure if that's an issue on the ABD.

Sayhello

 

[jimmymc]

I'm assuming if all the other boats run their engines 24/7, it's a good bet ABD's does, also, but it's really the ship in front of you that's the issue, not your own ship. So even if ABD's didn't run their engine at night, the others probably would.

I'm sure someone who has done this ABD will let you know for sure if that's an issue on the ABD.

Sayhello

From trip reports on non-ABD Egypt river cruises, all the boats run their engines all night, since most of these ports don't have ground power. They can also line up in alternating directions, meaning another boat's engine might be near your forward cabin. The safest options seems to be midship.

 

[AquaDame]

Sounds like ABD is on the M/S Tulip according to the site. I googled and read reviews for "M/S Tulip" & "fumes" and did see reports that the ship utilizes the same docking maneuver as everyone else on the Nile when needed. I honestly think you would be hard pressed to find a ship that would guarantee this doesn't happen during your cruise. Traveling during less popular times may help, but that would still be a gamble and based on how many ships need to use the dock at any given time.

 

[MarionStuntDouble]

I have been reading about some of the issues with the Nile cruises. Does the ABD boat dock at night? Does it dock closely to the other boats? I was watching a video where a man was doing Ama, which I know isn't the same. However, he had to walk through multiple other boats to get to the dock. The worst part was that the boats kept running at night with gas engines, because there was no power at those docks. He said it was very noisy and smelly. Thanks

When we docked in Kom Ombo we did have to walk through multiple boats to get to the dock, but that was the only port I recall having to do that. Could depend on the time of year you travel though, which will definitely impact the number of cruises docking. I do believe the boat kept running at night, but I do not recall the noise or smell being all that noticeable. We spent very little time on the boat while it was docked, and I was always quick to get to sleep so I could have just been oblivious to those things. The noise would definitely be impacted by where your cabin is on the boat. Hope that helps!

 

[soniam]

When we docked in Kom Ombo we did have to walk through multiple boats to get to the dock, but that was the only port I recall having to do that. Could depend on the time of year you travel though, which will definitely impact the number of cruises docking. I do believe the boat kept running at night, but I do not recall the noise or smell being all that noticeable. We spent very little time on the boat while it was docked, and I was always quick to get to sleep so I could have just been oblivious to those things. The noise would definitely be impacted by where your cabin is on the boat. Hope that helps!

Did you get to pick your cabin location? I’ve heard the front is the worst. Was the ABD group the only guests on the boat? Thanks